


Repercussions

by Criminally_Capricious



Category: Transformers: Rescue Bots
Genre: Alien Invasion, Family, Heatwave activating Mother Hen protocol, Just wants a PB&J, Kade being a moron, Poor Kade, Spoilers for Season 4, aftermath of alien sedatives being used on a human, concussion, s4e1
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-12
Updated: 2016-08-23
Packaged: 2018-07-14 14:04:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7174817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Criminally_Capricious/pseuds/Criminally_Capricious
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alien invasions are exhausting; as it turns out, getting stabbed in the neck with a cocktail of unknown alien sedatives can really knock you off balance.  It's a good thing Heatwave is basically a giant red Mother Hen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. PB&J

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this on the Memo Pad app instead of sleeping. It took 3 entries and it's 6:11 am. I haven't slept.
> 
> I just want more Kade. I love him he is so ginger.

After the adrenaline of the Rescue (and the almost more stressful confession that the 'bots weren't actually RO-bots) had worn off, Kade was becoming a little irritated at the fact that it was getting more and more difficult to keep his eyes open.

To be fair to himself, this wasn't exactly unusual, as according to the time displayed on Heatwave's screen it was almost five am, and most of the rescue crew had been awake now for just over twenty hours. In consideration of the absolute wreck of a day and night they'd just had, he figured it was really only a matter of time before it caught up to him.

It was times like these he was secretly glad that Heatwave actually took care of the driving as he took his hands off the wheel, where they had been resting uselessly for most of the journey anyway, and leaned back in his seat to stretch the tired slouch from his spine. He tipped his head back against the seat, taking the weight off his neck, and allowed a soft sigh to slip past his lips as he stared bleary at the ceiling of the cab and tried to fend off the increasingly insistant pull of sleep, only made more difficult to resist by the gentle sway of motion as Heatwave navigated the island's winding roads with practiced agility.  
He stubbornly forced his eyes to stay open even as they began to slip shut again. He would NOT fall asleep in Heatwave's cab, like a little kid on a road trip.  
He'd never live it down.

"You okay there, Copper top?"  
Heatwave's voice was low, it's gravelly tone sending faint vibrations through the cab as his face appeared on the dash screen, expression as stony as ever despite the barely veiled affection in his words.

Gathering the energy to reply took longer than expected, so after a long pause Kade settled with a vague acknowledging hum, noting in the back of his mind that Heatwave had used the nickname he hated. He decided he would probably put baloney in his glove box again in retaliation. Later, after he got some sleep.  
"Just tired." he was eventually able to mumble. "And sore."

Unfortunately the soreness was only getting worse, despite his attempts to relax into Heatwave's admittedly comfortable seats. His muscles ached from the strains of the whole ordeal, from the multi-emergency yesterday that seemed to already be a distant memory, to the much more memorable event of his capture by hostile aliens. He'd once thought that teaming up with a giant alien robot was the weirdest thing to ever happen to him, but being hauled feet-first out of his favourite diner by web-slinging extra terrestrial goblins appeared to have claimed first place. 

Of course, being Kade, he'd struggled the whole way as they carried him and several others from the diner to the power plant, and of course, being Hostile Aliens, they'd had no problem with dropping him more than a few times. And kicking him. He was pretty sure they'd attempted to sedate him at least once, but it mustn't have worked, because although the sharp jab in the side of his neck made him sluggish for a few minutes, it quickly wore off. 

He wondered if he'd need therapy for this.

Realising that he had been staring into space for a few minutes, Kade shook his head sluggishly and shifted. Lifting his head seemed a herculean effort at this point, but he eventually managed to rest it against the window so that he could more easily look at Heatwave onscreen. He squinted at the blurry rendering of his partner, aware that the cybertronian had zoned out just as much as he had just then.

"Are YOU okay, big guy?" 

Reigning in his pleasant surprise at the apparent concern, Heatwave hummed, sending another vibration through the cabin as he considered how he felt about what had occurred.  
Their biggest secret had been revealed, and his orders from Optimus had been fulfilled. He supposed he was relieved in that sense, as it meant an end to the humiliating Robot charade. However, the reaction to their revelation, although not violent as he had expected, had been very...overwhelming. Heatwave wasn't a social kind of 'bot. He preferred to be quietly appreciated rather than publicly fawned over, and the almost fervent adoration that the crowd of islanders had shown him and his team had instantly made him uncomfortable.

But they hadn't been chased with pitchforks, he supposed.

"...Yeah." he finally answered, after a long few moments of thought.  
"Yeah, I think I'm good."

It was only when he heard the faint sounds of snoring that he realised Kade had fallen asleep before he heard his reply.

He looked at his sleeping partner with a gentle smirk before disappearing from the dash screen to concentrate on getting back to the fire house.

If he took the turns more carefully than usual, well...no one was awake to point it out.

///////////////

Kade was dreaming. 

It had taken all of ten seconds for him to finally submit and drop into unconciousness, despite his previous determination to avoid the particular embarrassment of falling asleep in his partner's cab.

Kade dreams usually involved food, and this one was no exception.  
He stood in the Fire House kitchen, slathering a thick coat of peanut butter onto a slice of bread. It was the smooth kind, without crunchy bits. He had nothing against crunchy bits, he supposed, but his mom had always made him sandwiches with the smooth kind, and it was how he liked it.

When the bread was no longer visible under its smothering of Peanut Butter, he carefully lifted it from the counter top with his fingertips to avoid getting his hands sticky, flipped it so the blank, un-peanut side faced up and pressed the slice gently onto the top of the small stack of other slices. 

He didn't remember making the rest of the sandwich, but he knew the other slices were daubed with liberal helpings of strawberry jelly or more Peanut Butter.

A timeless classic, the good old reliable quadruple stacked PB&J. Simple but satisfying.

As he transferred his creation from the counter top to a plate that he had conveniently found by his elbow, he suddenly became aware of the smell that filled the kitchen.  
It was earthy, like someone had turned over fresh soil, and it was laced with fleeting hints of something that he couldn't place. It could have been lavender, he supposed.  
It was familiar, and infinitely comforting. 

Kade took a few deep breaths, taking in the scent, but felt no need to turn around and investigate. It seemed right for it to be there. It belonged.

Turning his attention back to the sandwich, he picked up the plate and moved to make his way to the table with it, only to be stopped in his tracks by a sound.

He wasn't sure what kind of sound it was. It could have been a car going past the Fire House, but it also could have been a voice.

He stood still, listening hard, holding the plate in one hand.

"Kade"

There! Definitely a voice. It was soft, but close, like someone was standing in front of him, speaking gently.

...was it his Mom?

No, he had long since forgotten what her voice actually sounded like, but he was sure it was higher pitched, less gravelly.  
This voiced lacked her lilting accent. Sounded more like his Dad than anything, but he knew his Dad's voice well, and this wasn't it.

"Kade." 

The voice sounded firmer. A little bit irritated. Well if that wasn't rude he didn't know what was. Here he was, minding his own business making himself a snack and some grouchy invisible rando starts getting aggro with him out of nowhere, in the comfort of his own home no less.

"Kade Burns!"

He hadn't even done anything! What was this guys deal? If he wanted him to share his sandwich then he could shove a hosepipe right up his-

"KADE!"

/////////////////

"I wasn't sleeping!" Kade bolted upright in Heatwave's cabin, the denial spilling past his lips automatically as he tried to get his bearings and remember where he was.

Sitting up so fast proved to be a mistake, however, and he groaned as his head throbbed angrily. He slumped back in the seat, vision swimming as he closed his eyes and struggled to fight down the nausea that had suddenly crept up his throat.

From the DashScreen, Heatwave watched, concerned. 

"Woah...everything alright? Kade?"

The firefighter flapped a hand half heartedly in the direction of the dash.

"Yeah it's fine. Just. Headache."

"Ah, scrap." The Engine rumbled as the 'bot growled to himself. "We should have checked everyone for concussion - maybe I shouldn't have let you fall asleep." 

Kade snorted incredulously, forcing his eyes open.  
"I'm FINE, Heatwave, don't be so overdramatic. I'm just dehydrated or something."  
It wasn't exactly a lie, he was pretty sure he WAS dehydrated. He was also pretty hungry.

"Are we home yet?" He asked, squinting through the windshield. 

Heatwave grunted the affirmative as he pulled up the drive to the Firehouse, slowing to allow the garage shutters time to slide open to admit him.

As the shutters rattled closed behind them, Heatwave noted that they were the last to arrive, probably due to how carefully he had driven on the way back. Heatwave would never admit out loud that he cared for the irritating ginger loudmouth that rode with him, but he knew that humans required sleep to function and Kade would only be more annoying if he was tired and grouchy. 

He'd already seen how terrible Kade was at his job when he was sleep deprived, and he wasn't about to deal with that display again. He was doing himself a favour by making sure Kade got as much rest as possible, he'd told himself as he'd slowed to a crawl to take every sharp turn they encountered on their way home.

Now he wondered if he'd made the right choice, as he watched Kade take several deep breaths with his eyes screwed shut. He had downloaded a data packet on more advanced human first aid a few cycles earlier, and he was pretty sure that humans weren't supposed to sleep after sustaining significant head trauma. Delicate squishy brain modules.

"Don't hurl on my dash, Squirt." He warned as he saw Kades freckled skin pale.

Kade laughed although Heatwave wasn't joking, and proceeded to search for his helmet which had rolled into the footwell at some point.

Heatwave pulled up beside Boulder, rolling to a gentle stop and greeting Graham as he hopped down from the Bulldozer's cab.

"Hey Heatwave, Kade. Glad you guys made it." The engineer teased lightly as Boulder transformed behind him.

"Yeah" smiled the Bulldozer "you were taking those turns pretty...gentle."

Danny and Blades snickered from where they had settled on the sofa, and Heatwave bristled. He wasn't being gentle, he was being cautious. It was still quite dark, and the roads were winding, he told himself. He was being CAUTIOUS due to the driving conditions and nothing else. 

"Ha ha." He intoned. "Listen, I think we should check the humans for concussion."

There was an exasperated groan as Kade threw open the drivers side door, having finally located his helmet and crammed it onto his head to keep his hands free. 

"I'm not concussed, Tin Can. Just need to eat something."

He proved just how not-concussed he was feeling by managing to get out of the cab and make it to the floor without tripping over his own feet or throwing up. He supposed the fact that he counted this as a victory kind of counter-proved it but whatever.

He just wanted to sleep. His bones felt heavy and his limbs were leaden as he heaved himself away from Heatwave so that his partner could transform without squishing him. 

Glancing up, he realised that Graham was looking at him funny.

"What?" He tried to say, but found that his tongue couldn't keep up and slurred the word badly. 

He was far too hot. He was sweating, he was going to cook under this heavy gear, he needed it off.

He didn't bother actually reaching up to remove his helmet, instead choosing the simpler method of just angling his shoulder and neck to push it off his head, and leaving it where it fell.

"Kade?" 

He couldn't tell which one of his siblings that was. Everything sounded faraway and unimportant as he concentrated on unfastening his coat, which suddenly seemed extremely difficult. His fingers weren't doing what he wanted them to.

"Kade are you alright?" Why did everyone keep saying his name all the time? Just Kade Kade Kade over and over again. 

He wished they'd shut up for a second, couldn't they see he was busy trying to get out of this damn sweaty straitjacket? 

///////////////////

"Cody, go get Dad please."

Graham watched his little brother sprint out of the garage and vanish up the stairs before exchanging a glance with Dani as she jogged over, thin lipped and worried. 

They watched for a moment as Kade struggled with the velcro on his coat, finally tearing it open only to be confronted with the new puzzle of the zipper.

"Is he...okay?" asked Blades, one optic ridge arched as he watched the eldest Burns sibling fumble.

"I think he's concussed" rumbled Heatwave, pausing for a moment before adding, guiltily "I let him fall asleep on the way here." 

Boulder placed a servo on his shoulder.  
"You didn't know, it's not your fault."

"I should have known." He retorted, angry with himself. "I should have checked, but I just-"

He cut himself off as Cody and Chief Burns jogged into the garage, and made a beeline for where Dani and Graham had taken pity on Kade and were helping him remove his coat.

Charlie Burns made it to his son just in time to catch the brunt of his weight as he finally gave up the struggle with the creeping darkness that was eating at his vision, and toppled forwards.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kade's a sweaty disaster and Heatwave loses his faith in humanity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOOO It's half one in the morning and i need to get up early to drag my ass to a festival (with twice my bodyweight in camping gear and spare socks) but i wanted to get this done before i left for a week so HERE IT IS, DAAAMN
> 
> I didn't even do a second draft, god I'm awful
> 
> enjoy more Kade being a horrid sweaty mess

Kade only passed out for about four minutes, but the sight of their brother suddenly going completely limp and dropping into their father's arms was enough to send his siblings into a panic. Granted, as they were all trained rescue specialists, it was a very controlled sort of panic, but a panic nonetheless.  
  
Dani immediately leapt forward to help Chief Burns lower Kade to the ground, before leaning over him to gently press her wrist to his forehead, wincing at the heat that radiated from his skin. Graham and Cody also moved quickly, the younger rushing to ball up Kade's discarded jacket and pass it to Graham, who slid it carefully under Kade's head.  

"What's going on?" Said Blades, shrilly, leaning forwards to peer down anxiously at the huddle of humans, "Is he sick? Does he need to refuel? _Oh!_ Oh, should I get some water?" 

Boulder, who had stepped back out of the way of the humans, put a calming servo on Blades' shoulder. The 'copter had a tendency to fret and panic, and when he panicked he usually got underfoot; the younger bot was already practically vibrating with nervous energy under his grip, clearly restraining himself from bounding over to the huddle of humans. He went to speak, to tell Blades that it might be best if the bots hung back for a little while as they were far too large to do much other than loom distractingly over the Burn's family, but Dani called back over her shoulder to her partner before he had a chance to say anything. 

"Yeah Blades, could you get us some water from the hose over there? There's a bucket beside it, a green one, use that." She had only really meant to give Blades something to do with himself, as she knew very well how he got when he was anxious, but when she turned her head back to Kade, she realised that some cool water might not be a bad idea; he looked downright feverish. 

"Right, yes! On it, Dani!" The orange 'copter bounced into action, apparently delighted to be asked to help, and hurried over to the hose that they used for washdowns after particularly muddy adventures. 

Dani leant back down over her brother and pushed his damp hair out of his face, noting the sweat that rolled down his temple and the way that his eyes were flickering back and forth under the lids. Their Dad was already patting his cheek firmly, calling his name and trying to gain a response from his eldest, who only gave a low groan. His cheeks were flushed red but the rest of his face was pale, and his jaw worked as though he was grinding his teeth.   
Definitely feverish, but _surely_ they would have noticed something was wrong long before now? True, they'd been extremely busy, helping herd people out of the power plant and back to town, driving those who were injured or otherwise unable to walk. But Kade had never been one to pass up an opportunity to whine, and if he was feeling ill he would have milked it for all it was worth and then some. Perhaps the adrenaline had been keeping him upright, and he really hadn't noticed that something was wrong?   
   
"His pulse is a little fast, but it's nothing really bad." Graham supplied, one hand holding Kade's wrist as he pressed two of his fingers just below the thumb. Wanting to double-check and confirm his reading (and honestly just wanting to _do something_ ), he reached out to check the Carotid pulse in Kade's neck- and pulled his hand back sharply. Chief Burns eyed him and paused his attempts to rouse Kade, immediately noticing the aborted movement. 

"What's wrong, son?" He asked. His voice was calm and steady, but concern creased the corners of his eyes and made his gaze stern. Graham was frowning, and he stared hard at his fingers before meeting the Chief's eye and turning his hand so that he could see the sticky redness that spotted them. "He's bleeding." He said quietly, both confused and alarmed.   
Heatwave, who had moved to stand by Chase so as to not get in the way but was still paying very close attention, made to move forwards before stopping himself with some effort. He felt Chase's shoulder brush his in some offer of comfort. He glanced sideways at the police car, who was giving him an aggravatingly knowing look, and straightened up, trying to force the worry out of his EM field before any of the others picked up on it. He refused to give in to the urge to hover like a nanny-bot over his _(very fragile)_ human partner. It might give him the impression that he _cared_ , which he certainly didn't. At all.   
   
Blades provided a distraction as he hurried back form the wash station, carefully holding the green bucket, now full of cool water from the hose, between two digits and clearly putting great effort into not spilling any. It looked ridiculously tiny in his huge hand. He had also grabbed a small assortment of polishing cloths, and he set both down gently beside Dani, who looked around and threw him a quick smile as he shuffled back over to stand with the other bots in their awkward clump by the elevator.  
   
Dani made a mental note to praise Blades for his presence of mind in grabbing the cloths, and she dropped them hastily into the bucket to soak. Almost instantly, she returned her attention to Graham, who had let go of Kade's wrist and instead used his non-bloody hand to gently tilt his brother's head to the side. The movement revealed more of Kade's neck, and the bright lighting in the garage showed the purpling bruise that had been hidden beneath his jaw in all it's vibrant glory. It was almost black in the center and blossoming into greenish yellow at the edges; livid, but not overly large, and would have been covered entirely by the collar of his jacket. The puncture wound at the center had mostly scabbed over, but there was a smear of blood still drying on his skin. 

Cody, craning his neck to see through the huddle, hissed through his teeth.    
   
"What is it?" Blades and Heatwave glanced at each other, slightly startled that they had spoken in perfect unison.    
   
Cody looked up at them and tried to gave them a reassuring smile, waving his hands in a placating gesture. "It's okay! Nothing bad-well, I guess it's not _great_ but he's just bleeding a little...not much!" He added quickly, noticing the horrified look on Blades faceplate, "I think it's stopped now anyway." He looked over at his Dad for confirmation. 

"Yeah, there's no fresh blood here." Came the assurance, "It's the fever I'm worried about."    
Standing up and wincing and the sound of his knees popping, Chief Burns turned to his partner.    
"Chase, I want you to call Doc Greene and tell him Kade's down, and running a fever. Looks to me like he's taken a needle to the neck, there's some bruising and some blood." 

Chase snapped to attention, extremely glad to be given something to do other than stand in a corner uselessly, and Heatwave felt the faint wave of relief as it filtered through the Police Car's field.   
   
"Immediately, Chief. Should I also contact the Hospital?" 

This question made his human partner pause for a moment, shifting his eyes to stare hard at the floor, and Chase was familiar enough with the Chief's facial expressions to know that he was debating with himself. After a long second, he shook his head and met Chase's optics. 

"No." Dani, who was now wringing out Blade's polishing cloths and draping them over Kade's forehead and wrists, made a sound of protest behind him, but he held up a hand and continued in his 'I Know What I'm Doing' voice.    
   
"We've just had an island-wide emergency, lots of people were injured, the hospital will be too busy with broken limbs to prioritize a fever and a puncture wound. We can treat the concussion and the fever, and Doc can run blood tests and have the results much faster. " 

Chase nodded, satisfied with this logic, and strode to the cargo platform. A second later, the hiss of hydraulics signalled his descent into the basement as he headed for the communications room. 

"Woah-hey! Kade, just lay down, okay?"  

Whirling around at Dani's exclaimation, Chief Burns found her trying to stop her brother hauling himself into a sitting position, groaning weakly. 

"C'mon Kade, you gotta lay down buddy-" Graham tried, but his brother either couldn't hear him or wasn't listening, and waved his arm clumsily at him in a weak attempt to push his hand off his shoulder. After a few moments of awkwardly wrestling with flailing limbs, Dani rolled her eyes and gave up trying to fight him. Kade was stubborn as the day was long, even feverish and concussed, so she slid her shoulder under his arm and helped him sit up properly instead. 

Watching quietly, Chief Burns let some of the tension drop from his posture. Kade was clearly disoriented, but at least he had come to, and hadn't choked on vomit or had a seizure or any number of other far more unpleasant things that could have happened.    
He sighed through his nose and dragged a hand over his face, feeling his exhaustion creeping back into the forefront of his mind, settling into his shoulders and joints and making him feel every ache in his body. He took a moment more to think longingly of his bed, far away upstairs, and then refocused firmly on the situation at hand.  

Kade had stopped swatting at his siblings now that he was upright, and was blinking slowly as water dripped down his face and neck from the cloth that was still stuck to his forehead. Heatwave had given up all pretense of stoicism and followed the Chief over to Kade, kneeling down by Graham and leaning forward to rumble gently at his muddled partner. "Hey there, Coppertop, you with us?" 

Cody was sitting on Kade's left by his feet, beside Dani, who was sitting shoulder to shoulder with him and still had her arm wrapped around him to keep him upright. Chief Burns knelt on Kade's right with Graham, both watching for any sign that Kade recognised them (or that he was about to throw up). 

Kade didn't respond to the question, although he did turn his head and blink owlishly up at Heatwave. 

Blades and Boulder stepped over quietly, trying to make as little noise as possible with their pedes on the ground and they leaned over Heatwave's shoulders, peering at Kade as some kind of realization dawned across the redhead's face. 

"…'Wave?" He croaked, squinting hard at the blurry red shape in front of him. 

"Tha' you 'Wave?"    
   
Heatwave huffed through his vents, his equivalent of a laugh, as the other members of the Burns family seemed to sag in relief at this show of cognizance.  

"I gotta- you gotta tell me somethin' man." Kade was listing sideways towards Heatwave, staring dazedly into his optics, and the Firebot noted that this was the most vulnerable he had ever seen this boisterous, arrogant, obnoxious human ever look, wide eyes and pale, swaying where he sat. 

"What do I 'gotta tell you', partner?" He set his vocaliser at one of it's lowest volume setting and leaned in a little closer. 

Kade's stare was suddenly very sharp, the haze of disorientation and fever briefly gone from his eyes as he furrowed his brow, glancing shrewdly at his family around him as if checking to make sure they weren't listening in. 

Chief Burns looked at the ceiling pointedly, and this seemed to be enough for Kade, as he met Heatwave's bewildered gaze urgently. Heatwave had the feeling that the next words out of Kade's mouth would be very, _very_ important. Leaning now as far as he could towards Heatwave, Kade opened his mouth and hissed; 

" _Do I smell like ketchup?"_  

And then he threw up.


End file.
